Here’s hoping a shockingly bad night from the men’s basketball team doesn’t overshadow a historically good one for the women.

For much of the first half last night I mulled over whether No. 9 Kansas’ effort against the Big 12’s 11th ranked team was worthy of mention in this column’s lead paragraph. After all, the Kansas women’s basketball team earned a colossal 69-45 victory over No. 5 Baylor at Allen Fieldhouse in arguably the program’s proudest achievement in some time.

Junior guard Danielle McCray’s 35-point effort belongs alongside the finest performances in the Phog. This player and this win is just what the program needed.

Now on to darker developments.

An improbable fifth-straight Big 12 title was gift-wrapped by the team Kansas tamed last Sunday. No. 12 Missouri shocked No. 5 Oklahoma, guaranteeing at least a share of the Big 12 regular season crown and clearing the path for Kansas to secure the title outright.

But foul trouble from the court to sideline, 3-for-19 shooting by junior guard Sherron Collins, a banged up and beaten down sophomore center Cole Aldrich and a pass by freshman guard Travis Releford to a referee were just a sampling of the comedy of errors that derailed the Jayhawks last night.

The only thing clinched in Lubbock, Texas was the possibility of another maddening March first round exit a-la 2005 and 2006.

I was ready to pen a column on how securing the Big 12 title at Texas Tech would have been a welcome development and that these Jayhawks can realistically set their sights on April.

Instead the Final Four bandwagon lost a few members last night. Red Raiders senior guard Alan Voskuil’s domination from behind the arc– 35 points, 9-of-14 three-point shots – and 33.3 percent field goal shooting by the Jayhawks in response ensured a horrid night for Kansas. Foul trouble for Kansas big men, a peppering of turnovers and no rhythm established by either Aldrich or Collins ensured not only a beat down but a breakdown across the board.

Any team can have a terrible night when everything goes wrong. Kansas already had two of them – a Dec. 23 67-84 loss at Arizona and a 62-75 defeat at Michigan State. But the timing of this one and who it was against was the real head-scratcher.

The attitude preceding this game was equally disappointing. Collins told reporters before the game, “It’s a great feeling to clinch on the road. You do it on the road, you get to celebrate in somebody else’s locker room.”

That bulletin-board material and Senior Night for Voskuil equaled the best showing by a Texas Tech team that entered the game 12-17 and 2-12 in the Big 12.

Kansas’ effort in response lacked fire, motivation and, well just about anything positive.

That said, this team is as capable as any to pick up the pieces and reestablish themselves. After all, coach Bill Self’s candidacy for National Coach of the Year didn’t die in one night. A fiery rebound from last night’s showing and a successful postseason would further highlight the job he’s done this year, as this is a rough time of year to be licking wounds.

— — Edited by Carly Halvorson